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Bring trees to Palmers Green high street published their Delivery Report!8 months ago
We want to make Palmers Green high street more attractive to shoppers and nature by bringing in trees.
Palmers Green high street has almost no green! We want to start to change that by bringing two trees in beautiful pots to the high street. We cannot plant in the ground because of the gas mains. As people use local shops more as they stay at home more as a result of Covid, we want to make the high street as attractive as possible to improve the economy and make people's shopping experience more enjoyable. Trees are relaxing and improve people's sense of well being. It will be the start of a green chain between Broomfield Park and Hazelwood Recreation ground allowing birds, butterflies and other pollinators to cross east/west across Green Lanes. We will bring some biodiversity and beauty to the high street by planting pretty pollinator friendly plants around the base of the trees. Let's make Green Lanes green and bring some natural beauty to Palmers Green high street!
What we'll deliver:
Why it's a great idea:
Palmers Green high street has virtually no trees. Since our large tree at the Triangle died we have wanted to plant trees but the gas mains mean trees in the ground are a no no. We will bring the beauty of trees back to the high street. The high street is in use by more people staying at home due to covid restrictions. Trees are beautiful and calming and would make the high street a more attractive place to shop which would help increase local business. There is no biodiversity at all along the high street so the trees and the varied, pretty underplanting would begin to address that. Green Lanes is a barrier for to nature travelling east/west. Introducing some green chain links along the high street would allow nature to cross the main road. We want to begin a green chain from Broomfield Park to Hazelwood Rec to allow people to walk alongside and enjoy nature even while they are in the urban environment.
Steps to get it done:
Journey
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We are thrilled to say that everything went alright on the night and the trees are safely installed in fabulous pots on Palmers Green high street. It took a village to make the project a success - your funding, together with the Mayor's grant, was vital and then the help and co-ordination from Thors Trees (who very kindly volunteered their time and expertise), oversight and additional funding from Enfield Council, Clockhouse Nursery for lovely plants with a discount, Urbis Design for the pots and spot on time delivery, Thompsons of Crews Hill for great compost, slate and mulch (and more bags at the last minute), Barcham Trees for two beautiful Pyrus Chanticleer, our very kind local resident who donated two olive trees, our volunteers who turned up to plant and My Time and Vaporium for refreshments to keep us going. So many people stopped to appreciate the trees as we were planting them - it was a great experience. One of the most lovely conversations we had was with an elderly man who, while thanking everyone, explained he came to the UK from Cyprus when he was eleven, that olive trees are very important in Cyprus and signify peace - we agreed the world could do with a lot more peace right now. Thank you again for your donation to the project - we hope you enjoy the results!
We are excited to let you know that your four trees will be arriving in Palmers Green high street this Friday. With huge thanks to Thor's Trees who are giving their time to co-ordinate arrangements, we will be taking delivery of four stylish pots from Urbis Design, filling them with good compost from Thompsons and planting two Pyrus Chanticleer from Barcham Trees and two olives which have been very kindly donated by a local resident. This picture shows you how tall the Pyrus are - they will break up the grey nicely once they are in leaf and flowering! We are keeping disruption to an absolute minimum, but some may be necessary to keep the volunteers involved with the planting safe. Please forgive us if anything holds you up while installation happens. Thanks to you again for backing the project, to the Mayor of London for funding and to Enfield Council for their support and planning.
It's taken a while but we finally have an approved decision on the type of trees for the pots. We are thrilled that a couple of olives have been donated to us by a kind individual who wants to remain anonymous and we have decided to buy a couple of ornamental pear trees for the other two pots. The trees have a long list of requirements to comply with - drought tolerant, non-asthma inducing, non-staining for the pavement, upright shape to avoid getting in the way of larger vehicles and shop fronts, good for pollinators and good to look at - and importantly available to buy and not toooo expensive. These non-fruiting trees have small white flowers in spring which are good for pollinators and have a lovely deep late autumn leaf colour. TfL have placed a sign in one of the agreed spots so we are just dealing with that, as well as agreeing final delivery/maintenance protocols. Hopefully nearly there!
We are excited to say that the order for the pots has gone in - and we have managed to order FOUR! That's down to your amazing support - so thank you again. There is a long lead time on the pots so here is a picture to whet your appetite. Ours won't have the stand you can see in the picture. Tree planting is much better done in the wetter, cooler months and we are aiming for early January. We are hoping to have two evergreen olives and two deciduous ornamental pear trees (no fruit!). More details to come on these once the specific trees have been identified. Watch this space.
Thank you again for your donation to the potted trees in Palmers Green high street. It's down to you and the crowd which persuaded the Mayor's Fund to get behind us too. The Mayor's Fund and donations are being organised so the money will be coming out of your account very soon, if it hasn't done so already. We will take some time over the summer to make sure the pots we are buying are as beautiful and cool as they can be for the money. We built costs into the budget based on the ones you can see dotted around Kings Cross. Those have been there for some years and still look good so would be a good choice but we will make sure we get best value. We will also be looking at sources for trees so that we get the healthiest, most mature trees available. We are looking to install in the autumn. The reasons for this is so that the trees can settle in in the cooler, wetter (in theory!) months. There will be reservoirs in the pots to ensure the trees do not dry out. You may have seen that we are going to have very welcome help from Thor's Trees. They have kindly offered help us plant and maintain the trees to keep them healthy. So it will all go quiet for a little while, but worry not we will be busy in the background! Thank you again from all of the Palmers Green Action Team!
Have you seen us in Enfield Dispatch? Page 5 of the latest paper which you can download here has an article about our successful fundraising - thanks go to you all! https://enfielddispatch.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Dispatch-31.pdf And we have great news that Thor's Trees have very kindly offered to help with the physical planting and on-going pruning of the trees after installation. We are so grateful to them for their professional help! With a last push we might raise enough for 4 trees so please keep spreading the word.
We're so excited to say that all your backing and pledges have persuaded the Mayor of London's Make London fund to donate to our campaign! Thank you! We will be able to deliver not only the two trees originally planned but a third! We're going to carry on fundraising as we have four sites signed off by the council so with a bit more of a push we could really make a difference. Thank you so much for being part of this.
How will the money be spent?Target (inc. fees) £4,381
Costs Breakdown
This shows how money raised for the project will be spent. These costs have been confirmed by the project's Delivery Manager and verified.
Target (inc. fees) £4,381
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VolunteerWe are voluntary community organisation working to help Palmers Green high street be as successful and as attractive as it can be.
Project Owner: Palmers Green Action Team The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.
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